Perhaps you ended 2022 in a financial mess: debts piling up, living paycheck to paycheck, overspending on unnecessary items, and having no idea where your money was spent. If you are starting the year with the goal of resetting your finances and making better decisions that will benefit you and your family, then adopting these money habits will help you end 2023 in a better financial position.

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Financial Goals To Aim For This Year

1. Set Financial Goals

How do you want your finances to look at the end of the year? Do you want to have more money saved up? Do you want to pay off your debts? Do you want to make more money? Or maybe you want to save enough to buy a new home/car. If you have aspirations, take the time to write these down so you can have a visual reminder of what you are working towards.

When writing your financial goals, make sure they are specific and attainable for you. For example, if your goal is to reduce your debt by 50% this year, then it may be beneficial for you to write down your debts and break down how much you would need to pay off in order to accomplish this goal. Also, consider how much more you may need to work or what other sacrifices you need to make in order to accomplish that goal.

2. Build and Maintain An Emergency Fund

You never know when an emergency might occur so if you don’t have money set aside for emergencies, this is the time to start doing so.

Dave Ramsey, the author of Total Money Makeover, suggests starting with a goal of $1,000 set aside for emergencies. Once you have that built up, then you can work your way to saving for 3-6 months of expenses.

You can also set aside funds for specific goals such as car maintenance, home repairs, or “in case of job loss”. However, you chose to label your emergency fund, set a goal, and start building it.

3. Stick To A Budget

As Dave Ramsey says, “A budget is telling your money where to go instead of wondering where it went.” If you’re tired of wondering where your money went every month, then you need to start budgeting.

A budget is a tool that helps you know how much money you made and where your money was spent. By listing your income and expenses, you can ensure that your bills are paid on time, eliminate any unnecessary expenses, and determine whether you have enough income to cover all your bills and wants.

Creating a budget is as simple as writing down your income and expenses for the upcoming month and then revisiting that budget at the end of the month to assess how you did. This is a habit that will help you develop discipline in the way you spend your money and will lead to more financial stability when done consistently.

4. Keep Track Of Your Spending

If you’re always surprised as to where your money is going each month then it’s time to start tracking your spending. Using credit/debit cards makes it easy to spend without thinking which results in overspending on things you don’t need. However, when you start tracking your spending, you can be proactive about your money.

Start by printing out your statements each month and analyzing where your money went. Then you can create a plan to reduce spending in certain areas. You can also do a weekly audit of your spending by reviewing your transactions at the end of each week.

The goal is to be aware of what is going on with your bank account and to make sure your money is going where you want it to go.

5. Minimize/Pay off Debt

If you are starting the year with a lot of debt that is crippling you, then decide that this year will be the year you finally eliminate that debt.

Whether you decide work an extra job or cut your expenses to set aside more money to pay off your debt faster, you can make it happen.

Write down your debts and how much you owe. If they are in collections, call and get a settlement so you can work towards paying them off. If you have high-interest debts, consider paying these off first so they can stop sucking money from you.

6. Increase Your Financial Literacy

If you struggle with managing your finances, make it a goal to learn more about money this year. You can do so by taking courses, reading books on finances, listening to podcasts, or watching youtube videos. There are a ton of resources you can use to help improve your relationship with money and learn how to build wealth.

Free Financial courses you can take:

• Finance for Everyone: Smart Tools for Decision Making
• Personal Finance 101: Everything You Need to Know offered by Udemy.com
• Personal Finance by Khan Academy

Here are some books I recommend:

• Total Money Makeover by Dave Ramsey
• The Psychology of Money by Morgan Housel
• Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill
• Rich Dad, Poor Dad by Robert Kiyosaki
• Get Good With Money by Tiffany Aliche
• Broke Millenial by Erin Lowry
• I Will Teach You To Be Rich by Ramit Sethi

Here are financial podcasts you might like:

• ChooseFI hosted by Brad Barrett and Jonathan Mendonsa
• The Dave Ramsey Show hosted by Dave Ramsey
• How to Money hosted by Matt Attmix and Joel Larsgaard

7. Explore New Opportunities for Making Money

We live in an age where opportunities for making money are endless. Whether it’s having multiple jobs, doing side hustles, gig work, or building online businesses, there are countless opportunities to make more money.

Assess your current situation and determine whether your current job is the best use of your time right now: Are you working towards something better within that company? Are you making the most you can based on your education, experience, and knowledge? Is this the career path you wish to be on 5 years from now? Do you have other ambitions? Is there potential for more if you explore other opportunities?

These are just some of the questions you can ask yourself to help you understand what move to make. It could mean that you stay where you are until you are at a better position to quit that job or you may be in a position that allows you to quit and make your side hustle full time.

The bottom-line is, don’t be stagnant. Don’t stay in a place that doesn’t pay you what you deserve because of fear you may not get anything better or your passion may not be successful. Take calculated risks and change your life.

Final Thoughts

2023 could be the best financial year yet for you, if you are willing to do what it takes to make that happen. Setting and achieving the goals mentioned in this post will help you not only achieve financial freedom this year but also develop financial habits that will benefit you for the rest of your life.

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